Unity
by Artimus Knyght
Summary: So this is my first Mass Effect fic and Shepards in school, so I guess it's kinda AUish. Rated for safety and later chapters.


Hey, I know its been awhile since I've been on fanfic and I'm really sorry. I've been really busy lately, trying to get a job and all. Please enjoy my first, but not my last, Mass Effect fic.

PS I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

Starting School

Sixteen year old Selene Shepard stood outside the building, a big, duffle bag on her shoulder and papers in her arms, looking up at the sign. 'Unity Boarding School' was something of a new development, a school open to all species across the galaxy, not far out of London. Most people had had to spend a fortune to get their kids enrolled, and the kids from poor families had had to bust their ass' to get a scholarship, but Shepard, she was an orphan living on the streets, doing jobs for the '10th Street Reds' in exchange for some food, a warm bed and protection. She had been found sleeping in an alleyway by the schools headmaster, David Anderson, a few months previously. He had taken her home and given her a place to stay and soon enough he was up before the school governors on her behalf, trying to get her a place in the school. The Asari Governor Tevos was quick to agree, as was the Salarian Governor Valern, and despite his complaints that the board would have to cover the costs, the Human Governor Udina also agreed. The only one who stood against the decision was the Turian Governor Sparatus. It was put to a vote and Anderson got his way.

She had been excited to come to the school, for weeks she had been counting down the days. Now that she was here, the nerves were turning her stomach into knots. Anderson stood next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him, trepidation written all over her face. He gave her a reassuring smile, one that she half-heartedly returned, before leading her inside.

The entry hall was big and fancy, as you would expect from a big and fancy school. There was a robot behind the desk and security scattered around. The longer Selene was at the school the more she liked it. There was no better way to get off the streets and out of a gang in her opinion. There did not seem to be an abundance of students, but it was a Saturday, in the middle of autumn term and most of them had caught the shuttles into the city, the rest were probably secluded in their rooms. It wasn't long before Anderson was tapping her shoulder and motioning her to follow.

"Right then, your in room 234, put this code on your Omni-tool, it'll open the door," he handed her a piece of paper with a six digit code on. She turned on her Omni-tool and, after hitting a whole bunch of wrong buttons, entered the code. She still wasn't used to the thing on her arm, she had never used one before, and the Reds had certainly never seen fit to give her one. "This way Selene." She followed him through the building and out of another door. She could see many buildings scattered around the campus. Selene had a map of the campus in the stack of papers she held in her arms, she had already studied it, but best to have it on her at all times. There was a large building to the right that she thought was the cafeteria and an even bigger one to the left, which she seemed to remember was the gym. There were seven buildings, including the main one they had just exited, which were used for classes. Finally, there was an apartment building for the staff and two dorm buildings at the far end of the field; one for the boys and one for the girls. There were only around a thousand students at the school. She hurried after Anderson as he made his way towards the dorms.

Anderson led her up to the elevator and pressed the button for the twenty fourth floor.

"There are ten rooms on each floor and twenty five floors," he explained to her, "each floor has a kitchen and a lounge area, both are fully stocked. You have extranet access in your room and a desk, both are for school work. During any down time you are encouraged to join a club or a sports team. During any further downtime, the lounge is a nice, calm area for you to hang out with any new friends that you make." The elevator pinged and opened and Anderson led her down to the second door on the right. "If you need to talk, my apartment is on the top floor of the teachers' accommodation and my office is to the left of the main reception. Now I've got to go, got a lot of paper work to do." he turned and began walking back to the elevator. She turned and call after him.

"Hey Anderson," he turned around as he waited for the elevator, "thanks, you know, for everything."

"Don't mention it Shepard," the elevator arrived and he stepped into it, but he held the doors open before they could close, "oh, by the way, there's something you should know. All dorm rooms at Unity are doubles." With that he let the doors close and the elevator began to descend, all the while Selene's mouth hung open. Double? But that would mean …

Selene quickly fiddled with her Omni-tool and swiped it over the door. The lock turned green, the door opened and Selene groaned. There were two single beds against opposite walls and smiling up at her from one of them was a small Japanese girl wearing and hood.

"Hey there, I'm Kasumi, Kasumi Goto." Yup, that would mean she had a roommate.

* * *

So tell me what you think?


End file.
